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“
Health
leaders are calling for a big tax increase to fight tobacco – after
new figures showed Australia’s seven leading causes of death are all
linked with smoking. The
latest survey from the Australian Bureau of Statistics* shows that the
diseases causing most deaths in the decade 1998-2007 were ischaemic heart
disease, strokes, trachea/lung cancer, dementia/Alzheimers, chronic
lower respiratory diseases, colorectal cancer and diabetes. Says
Dr Matthew Peters, Chairman of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
Australia: “Tobacco remains our number one preventable cause of
death – and daylight is second. “Tobacco
been long recognised as a major factor in Australia’s enduring top
three death-causing diseases – heart disease, stroke and lung cancer. “And
research in recent years has also linked both active and passive
smoking with one of the conditions that’s just jumped from seventh
to fourth place: dementia. “Tobacco
kills more than 15,000 people a year in Australia – and leaves many
more disabled or chronically ill. “Many
of these people would have been in the prime of their productive life,
leaving young families and businesses decimated. “All
evidence points to the effectiveness, including cost-effectiveness, of
increasing taxes on tobacco and increasing investment in other
measures to reduce smoking rates. “Tax
increases help people on low incomes – because the benefit of
reduced smoking outweighs any increase in price they might pay. “With
Australia’s decline in smoking prevalence threatening to stagnate,
we urge the Australian government to take immediate steps to stem
tobacco uptake and increase quitting.” *
ABS, Causes of Death, Australia, 2007
at www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3303.0?OpenDocument
Comment:
Dr
Matthew Peters, Chairman, ASH Australia
m. 0407-499-440 Comment
/ media info:
Stafford Sanders
ph. (02) 9334-1823; m.
0412-070-194
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Page last updated 19/3/09 |
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